Unlike a recs list, a masterlist generally doesn't imply anything about the quality of the works it lists -- it simply notes their existence to make them easier to find. Sometimes the list creator also chooses to mark her/his favourites, though.

Some masterlists may involve a degree of quality control, but often that is limited to making sure that the author is competent at such basics as spelling and grammar or excluding WIP.

Masterlists may be simply titles, authors, and URLs, but many also provide other information, such as a summary, characters or pairing, warnings if relevant, and/or a rating. They rarely include reviews or quotes from the story.

In journal-based fandom, the term is often specifically applied to a post that a fan makes of their own fanworks with links to each one and sometimes summaries or other header information. The post is usually set as a "sticky post" so that it is easy for fans to find a creator's works by simply clicking on their journal name.

Thematic Masterlists

Occasionally the term 'thematic list' is used to apply to lists of fics featuring a particular character or pairing, or of a certain era, style of writing, etc; however, its more accurate meaning is a list of stories which share a similar theme or plot.